Have you enjoyed riding a cycle during your childhood days yet never went pedaling once automatic scooters or cars came into your lives? Then if may be time you get back to cycling mainly due to the many benefits it has to your health and fitness.
Research shows that long-term weight loss requires a commitment to exercise, so it is important to find activities you love. If you enjoy an activity, it is more likely you are going to stick with it. If you like cycling then that might be just your kind of exercise.
Yes, riding a cycle is an excellent and effective cardio workout. It can boost your heart and lung health, improve your blood flow, build muscle strength, and lower your stress levels. It can also help you burn calories and lose weight. In comparison to other outdoor cardio workouts like jogging or running, cycling takes your heart rate up with less wear and tear on your knees, ankles, and other joints.
Cycling is considered as time-efficient and time-effective way to burn fat. Even with moderate intensity, you can burn good amount of calories in half an hour to one hour of cycling compared to many other forms of exercises. Because cycling is low-impact, it is mostly recommended as the exercise of choice for people with arthritis and other joint ailments. Before, riding on your bike, ensure to have a proper bike fit. Then, combined with a good warmup, you can push the pace without stressing your hips, knees, or ankles.
For effective weight loss, you may need to focus on your intensity. Pedaling along at a leisurely pace probably will not do much to help you lose weight. However, if you push yourself to work harder and up the intensity of your ride, you will make more progress toward your weight loss goal. As a rule, the faster you cycle, the more calories you will burn. That is because your body uses more energy to cycle faster and the more calories you burn, the more weight you will likely shed. Steady, moderate cycling burns about 300 calories in 60 minutes, but you can burn more than that if you increase the intensity.
With cycling you not only have the outdoor options when the weather goes bad or you don’t feel like venturing out. You also can cycle indoors at your home or in spinning studios. If you own a stationary bike or you use one at a gym, you can get a great workout that is tailored specifically to your needs. If you need someone to encourage you to keep on riding through your workout, joining a Spin class might be a good choice.
Research also suggests that spinning is just as effective for improving your physical fitness and changing your body, compared to regular bicycle riding.
Another good side of cycling is even if you have no time to exercise you can use your cycle to commute to nearby places or run errands. This way, you won’t have to dedicate any additional time of your day to work out. By riding your bike to the store, commuting to work, and riding instead of driving for other errands, you can slip in hours of activity every week doing the things you’d normally do anyway—and achieve a healthy weight.
Therefore, the bottom line is whether you do it in the outdoors or on a stationary bike at your home – Cycling has a whole lot of benefits for your body and mind. It is enjoyable, fun and an effective workout. So get on that cycle and pedal away.